The Lost Lands

A Side Excursion

24

APR/11

The party was in Hommlet recovering from their latest foray into the Temple. Aldoron was out looking for materials for his masterwork bow, and Kaleb was at the local store selling goods the party had recovered and buying the newest, most fashionable gear for Zook and Oni. Bricker and Haek where lazily lounging about the Inn of the Welcome Wench when a young man entered the tavern. After a brief exchange with Ostetler the bartender and a nod in the direction of the heroes, the boy approached the pair and asked if he could sit at their table.

The boy explained that he was looking for someone to hire to look for his missing father. His father, being an adventurer of some repute, had set off several days earlier to investigate the strange disappearance of several farmers outside of Hommlet. The man set off on his horse and had not been heard from since, The youngster offered to pay a reward of 500 gold if Haek and Bricker could find his father or at least determine what happened to him. After a brief discussion, the pair accepted the task presented before them.

The duo set off to the southwest of Hommlet to the cottage where the boy and his family lived. After searching around the area, the adventurer’s tracks were discovered and the pair commenced to looking for the lost man.

Near the end of the first day, Bricker and Haek heard strange sounds coming from a ravine as they were setting up camp. Bricker moved down into the ravine to investigate and stumbled upon the rotting figure of a once-alive ogre feasting upon the dead carcass of a horse. The undead ogre was covered in fresh and dried blood, the fresh apparently came from the horse carcass and the old blood seemed to be the visible symptoms of The Plague. Bricker yelled and got the undead ogre’s attention, raced up the hill, and tried to hide as Haek readied his scimitar and shield.

The ogre lumbered up the hill straight to Bricker, whose foot was clearly visible in the undergrowth. The beast slammed the poor Halfling with a blood-covered fist, and Bricker was coated in the foul substance. Immediately, Bricker began to feel ill as the tainted blood mixed freely with his own. Haek rushed out as his scimitar of speed flashed angrily at the beast. In a few moments, the battle was over and Haek called upon the blessing of Horus to cure the Plague that was setting about to destroy Bricker’s body. A ring of sustenance was found inside one of the pockets of the undead ogre.

After the camp was set up, the two settled in for the night, Bricker on the first watch. As he sat around the campfire, the horses began to get uneasy and Bricker went to investigate. A huge cougar leaped at him, and caught him surprised. The beast fell upon him, claws and mouth mauling him terribly. He yelled for help, and Haek rushed to his aid. Bricker fell to the ground, unconscious from the cougar’s attack. The beast was finally defeated and Bricker regained his consciousness after Haek laid his hands upon him. The rest of the night was uneventful and the pair decided to stay another day at their present location so they could heal from the previous day’s battles.

On the morning of the third day, Bricker and Haek set off down the ravine and followed the old trail that the ogre had made while dragging the corpse. The trail followed a stream and eventually it came to a huge willow tree. The pair heard the sounds of young cats playing and moved to investigate. Bricker spooked two young mountain lion cubs (though they were exceptionally large for their age) and the kittens ran inside the hanging tree branches. Their mother came outside the branches, spotted the two, and charged them. After a pitched battle, Haek and Bricker defeated the mother and moved inside the tree. Once inside, they found the remains of several animals, saddles, and other belongings. The two kittens were huddled high in the tree. A marked cloak was taken back to the boy, and he identified it as his father’s, much to his sorrow. Apparently the mountain lions had been the reason for the disappearances in the community.